the space occupied by the assembled guns, tanks, or vehicles of a military unit.

the assemblage so formed.

(formerly) the ammunition trains and reserve artillery of an army.

11.

Automotive. a setting in an automatic transmission in which the transmission is in neutral and the brake is engaged.

verb (used with object)

12.

to place or leave (a vehicle) in a certain place for a period of time.

13.

Informal. to put, leave, or settle:

Park your coat on the chair. Park yourself over there for a moment.

14.

to assemble (equipment or supplies) in a military park.

15.

to enclose in or as in a park.

16.

Informal. to invest (funds) in a stock, bond, etc., considered to be a safe investment with little chance of depreciation, as during a recession or an unstable economic period, or until one finds a more profitable investment.

a gear selector position on the automatic transmission of a motor vehicle that acts as a parking brake

12.

the area in which the equipment and supplies of a military formation are assembled

13.

a high valley surrounded by mountains in the western US

verb

14.

to stop and leave (a vehicle) temporarily

15.

to manoeuvre (a motor vehicle) into a space for it to be left: try to park without hitting the kerb

16.

(stock exchange) to register (securities) in the name of another or of nominees in order to conceal their real ownership

17.

(transitive) (informal) to leave or put somewhere: park yourself in front of the fire

18.

(intransitive) (military) to arrange equipment in a park

19.

(transitive) to enclose in or as a park

Derived Forms

parklike, adjective

Word Origin

C13: from Old French parc, from Medieval Latin parricus enclosure, from Germanic; compare Old High German pfarrih pen, Old English pearrucpaddock1

Park

/pɑːk/

noun

1.

Mungo (ˈmʌŋɡəʊ). 1771–1806, Scottish explorer. He led two expeditions (1795–97; 1805–06) to trace the course of the Niger in Africa. He was drowned during the second expedition

2.

Nick, full name Nicholas Wulstan Park. born 1958, British animator and film director; his films include A Grand Day Out (1992), which introduced the characters Wallace and Gromit, and the feature-length Chicken Run (2000)

3.

Chung Hee. (ˈtʃʊŋ ˈhiː). 1917–79, South Korean politician; president of the Republic of Korea (1963–79); assassinated

park

n.

mid-13c., "enclosed preserve for beasts of the chase," from Old French parc "enclosed wood or heath land used as a game preserve" (12c.), probably ultimately from West Germanic *parruk "enclosed tract of land" (cf. Old English pearruc, root of paddock (n.2), Old High German pfarrih "fencing about, enclosure," German pferch "fold for sheep," Dutch park).

Internal evidence suggests the West Germanic word is pre-4c. and originally meant the fencing, not the place enclosed. Found also in Medieval Latin as parricus "enclosure, park" (8c.), which likely is the direct source of the Old French word, as well as Italian parco, Spanish parque, etc. Some claim the Medieval Latin word as the source of the West Germanic, but the reverse seems more likely. Some later senses in English represent later borrowings from French. OED discounts notion of a Celtic origin. Welsh parc, Gaelic pairc are from English.

Meaning "enclosed lot in or near a town, for public recreation" is first attested 1660s, originally in reference to London; the sense evolution is via royal parks in the original, hunting sense being overrun by the growth of London and being opened to the public. Applied to sporting fields in American English from 1867.

New York's Park Avenue as an adjective meaning "luxurious and fashionable" (1956) was preceded in the same sense by London's Park Lane (1880). As a surname, Parker "keeper of a park" is attested in English from mid-12c. As a vehicle transmission gear, park (n.) is attested from 1949.

v.

1812, "to arrange military vehicles in a park," from park (n.) in a limited sense of "enclosure for military vehicles" (attested from 1680s). General non-military meaning "to put (a vehicle) in a certain place" is first recorded 1844. Related: Parked; parking. Park-and-ride is from 1966.